Angel's Horn
by sakurademonalchemist
Summary: The Book of Darkness wasn't always a book. Hayate Yagami isn't exactly an orphan. And Dean Winchester is about to deal with both. Meet Hayate Winchester, the daughter of Dean and Master of a certain Lost Logia that isn't what everyone thinks. Can Hayate save her device from the people who still believe it's a threat, or will she be frozen forever?
1. Chapter 1

Hayate Yagami was a fairly ordinary girl. She had lost her parents at an early age, but her uncle in England had insured that she could take care of herself until he was recalled when she was seven. Everything was fine...that is until she found the letter.

_Dear Hayate,_

_If you are reading this, then chances are you're old enough to understand the truth. No matter what though I want you to know we always loved you despite the circumstances behind your birth._

_I can only hope I am telling you this in person, but if you are reading the letter that means something happened to us and this is the only way for the truth to be known._

_The man you know as your father isn't your father. While I loved my husband this happened just before we met and he married me despite knowing I was pregnant with another man's child. If, as I have always suspected is true, then your real father is alive and well._

_There was a man at a bar near the college I was attending in America and one thing lead to another. I never saw him again, but the way he entered into my life he made sure I would know to contact him if anything happened. Let's just say our meeting isn't as mundane as you would think, but we agreed never to mention those events again._

_The man who I believe is your biological father is named Dean Winchester. He wouldn't have given me his name if not for the fact that there was no way I would have slept with him without it._

_If you want to contact him, I can give you some help in proving your story to him. He was justifiably paranoid because of his line of work._

Hayate read the list of things to mention, as well as the number left behind. It looked like some sort of government agency number, with an official seal and everything.

She debated on whether or not to call, but taking a look around her house (paid for by her mysterious uncle) helped to make up her mind. She was tired of being alone, and she wanted to see what sort of man her mother fell for.

* * *

Bobby Singer was about to make another pot of coffee for a research run when one of his 'official' phones rang. It was the one for the "FBI" cover several other hunters used.

He was paid a good sum of money by other hunters to help with their cover ID.

"Federal Bureau of Investigations," he said gruffly.

"_Ano... hello? I am looking for Dean Winchester?"_

Bobby blinked. The voice was way too young and she was asking for Dean by name...and to top it all off she was speaking Japanese. What in the hell had that idjit gotten himself into _this_ time?

"_May I ask who is calling?"_ he replied back in the same language. You could almost feel the relief on the other end.

The kid on the other end (and it was definitely a child speaking) explained about the letter. Bobby asked her a few questions that insured she was looking for the same man (and considering Dean was an idiot, it was likely it _was_ him she was looking for) and left with a sour taste in his mouth. Dean was going to have _hell_ to pay when he saw him again.

The girl left him her home number and Bobby agreed to call back the next time he saw Dean.

* * *

Dean took two steps into Bobby's house before he was slapped on the head by the man.

"What the hell Bobby?"

"You're a damn idjit is what. I always knew your habits would come back to bite you in the ass, and sure enough!"

"What habits?" said Dean confused.

"I just got a call from a kidlast week asking for Dean Winchester _by name_. She even had a list of things that could only point to you."

Dean blinked.

"A kid?"

"In Japan. She had the fake FBI number and a letter from her recently dead mother explaining that her father wasn't her father, and to ask for you," said Bobby gruffly.

"I don't... wait, did you just say Japan? Shit..."

"So she's telling the truth?"

"There was this one chick about eight, maybe nine years ago. Exchange student I think. Saved her life during a hunt..."

"I get the picture. If this kid is telling the truth, are you going to man up or not? She said her parents died in a car crash two years ago and she only found the letter," said Bobby.

"Wait, two years? Who's been taking care of her since then?" said Dean.

Bobby could see Dean was taking this seriously. If the girl was his daughter, then he had better do something or Bobby would never let him live it down.

"She said her step-father's uncle sent his secretaries to insure she knew how to live on her own. They had to go back two months ago," said Bobby.

"She's been living on her own for two months?!"

"What are you going to do?" asked Bobby.

Dean grit his teeth.

"If she is my kid, there's no way in hell I'm leaving her all alone. The biggest bitch will be getting a passport," said Dean finally.

"I can handle that. I have a few friends in Japan, and they might be willing to help bring her here since I know you hate flying," said Bobby.

He knew Dean was a good kid, it was just his bad luck he had someone like John as a father. The fact he was willing to take responsibility for a kid he didn't know he had spoke volumes about his character.

* * *

_One month later..._

Dean was waiting at an air port, mostly because the girl's plane would land soon. He was really, really hoping this was his kid. He had always wanted a family, but he had never expected it to happen like this. If she was his daughter there was no way he was going to let her live all alone. Unprotected.

Finally her flight landed. He waited impatiently, despite having no idea what she looked like.

He observed the passengers come off the plane, and saw a girl having trouble walking without a pair of crutches. It took him a few minutes to realize she was the only one under thirteen on the plane.

Which made her the girl he was waiting for.

"Here, let me give you a hand," he said.

"Is okay. Waiting for someone," she said in botched English.

Dean leaned down to meet her at eye level.

"Hayate Yagami?" he asked.

She blinked, but nodded.

"I'm Dean."

It was easy loading up her small suitcase into the car, and he even helped her into the car. It took them a few hours to get to Bobby's, but it was a rather awkward moment for them both.

The second Bobby saw Hayate next to Dean, he knew without any doubt that the kid was definitely the idjit's daughter. There was something about her demeanor that screamed the same stubbornness that seemed genetic in all the Winchester, and they had the same eyes as well. Hayate might have blue, but he figured that had to be from her mother.

He didn't mind acting as translator until the girl learned some English.

* * *

Dean stared at the envelope in his hands. This was the moment of truth for him. Carefully he undid the seal on the paper.

"Well?" said Bobby, but he knew after one look this kid was related to Dean.

"It's positive. Hayate is my biological daughter... Christ Bobby, what am I supposed to do?" said Dean running his hand through his short hair.

"Well for starter's yer not going to turn into John," said Bobby flatly.

"I know that! Kids need a stable home, and while I love dad his parenting skills were crap," said Dean.

"Want me to break the news to Sam? Seeing as how he hasn't spoken to you or John in over a year?" asked Bobby.

"He'd be more likely to answer your call than ours," agreed Dean.

"What are you going to tell him?"

Bobby didn't need to elaborate who _he_ was.

"Nothing. If Dad knew that he had a grandkid he might try to turn her into another hunter like us, and I'll be damned before I even think of allowing that to happen," said Dean flatly.

"I might have someone who can help. There's another hunter by the name of Ellen who's semi-retired. Runs a bar for others like us and she has a daughter named Jo. She might be willing to watch Hayate in between hunts so she has a stable home and still gets to know you. Plus there's the fact that Ellen isn't exactly a fan of your father, so there's little chance he will run into her before you tell him," said Bobby.

"What happened?"

"John got her husband killed on a hunt. She's not exactly fond of Winchesters but she might be willing to help once she finds out the situation. Keeps her safe at all times."

* * *

Ellen was surprised to get a call from Bobby, and even more so when she found out why.

"So let me get this straight. One of the Winchesters had a kid and you want _me_ to keep her?"

"You're not a fan of John and you're a hunter. Dean doesn't want his father anywhere near her because he's worried John might drag her into the same search for the demon he forced the boys into, and she's still an innocent," said Bobby.

"Kids need a stable home to really thrive."

"I suggested the Roadhouse because he could visit it and not draw John's suspicion. She stays safe and gets a chance to keep her childhood while learning about hunting. Dean's willing to pay you in cash if he has to," said Bobby.

"I'll do it for free just to piss off John. The fact his own son is willing to go around him just to keep his kid safe from him is good enough for me to help. But the cash will help pay for her schooling," said Ellen.

Plus Jo might enjoy having a little sister around.

* * *

Hayate liked America, and she liked her birth father as well. Dean was goofy, but really kind. He put in an actual effort to learn her language while she learned English. Sure it was awkward, but considering how alone she had been after her caretakers had left she liked it.

She didn't mind going moving to a new place. Her mother had hinted Dean had a very dangerous job.

"Here's your new room," said Ellen. It was next to Jo's and the door was right in front of her own. The basement was often used to house hunters who needed an area to crash and didn't want to attract the cops.

Hayate could see the room was rather sparse, but the bed was relatively new and had fresh sheets.

Bobby had explained the reason behind the iron wires in between the window panes and why there was usually a line of salt on the sills. She didn't know whether to believe in evil ghosts, but she could see they did and that was enough for her.

When she came down for supper, Ellen handed her a plate and gave her a soda.

Almost immediately there were questions from the other people in the bar, but Ellen answered them so she could eat in peace.

"Who's the kid?" asked Gordon.

"Another hunter Bobby's in contact with found out he had a daughter, and since he doesn't have a permanent home is paying me to watch her in between hunts. She's safer here than Bobby's considering he's not equipped to raise a girl and I have Jo to help me," said Ellen.

It was enough to keep the other hunters from bothering the girl without raising suspicion.

"How old is she?" asked another.

"Not even seven. And I've been asked not to tell her about hunting until she hits puberty, so keep your mouth shut," warned Ellen.

Dean was very firm about that. No hunting or mentioning hunting until the girl was at least thirteen. He remembered vividly the way Sam had reacted when he finally learned what their father did and he did not want a repeat with his daughter. The last thing he wanted was for Hayate to have nightmares about the very real monsters out there trying to eat her.

If she wanted to be a hunter later, that was her choice. He wasn't going to take away her childhood more than it already had been because of her mother's death.

* * *

_Three months after Hayate moves into the Roadhouse..._

Dean was in one place he had sworn to avoid, if only to respect his brother's wishes to be left out of the hunting game.

Unfortunately, he didn't have much choice. Sam was the closest hunter and he wanted to get this done fast and right.

So he went to visit his brother in Stanford.

Sam was not happy with Dean, but he agreed to help if only to get rid of his brother.

"So what was with that phone call I got from Bobby six months ago?" asked Sam finally.

"Which one?"

"The one where he basically tells me one of your screw-ups have 'come back to haunt you'?"

"If we get this done and over with fast enough I might have enough time to show you. I'm sure it would be interesting for all of us," said Dean cryptically.

"You got a girl knocked up, didn't you?" Sam accused him.

Dean flinched.

"You did, didn't you? Does dad know about the kid?"

"No, and if you tell him that he's got a grandkid I swear to god I'll shoot you myself," growled Dean.

Sam blinked.

"Dad doesn't know about his own grandkid?" said Sam incredulous.

"I'm not letting him drag Hayate into hunting. Not a chance in hell."

"So his name is Hayate?"

"Her. And I plan on keeping her from dad for as long as possible."

"Why?"

"Like you said, we were raised as warriors. Remember that Christmas you finally found out what Dad was really doing? You cried yourself to sleep because you were terrified that monsters were going to break in and eat you. I told the hunter watching her that she wasn't to mention what we do for a living until Hayate was thirteen at least," said Dean.

Sam was quiet after that, shocked his brother was being so responsible for once. He knew Dean slept around a lot, but the fact that his brother was keeping something this big from their father was shocking to say the least. Hearing his reasoning behind it however made it easier to believe.

"The interview isn't until six in the evening. Think we would be close enough to wherever she is for me to meet her and still make it in time?" said Sam finally.

"If not, I'll pay for your plane ticket," said Dean.


	2. Chapter 2

**_I forgot to mention this before, but the original plot idea for a Hayate-is-Dean's-daughter story did not originate from me. That can be entirely laid on the shoulders of edboy4926 who asked for a Supernatural/Nanoha crossover._**

* * *

Sam and Dean couldn't wait to get this hunt over with so that they could hit the Roadhouse once Sam had his interview. Dean just knew that Sam and Hayate would get along great...they were both total bookworms.

They had finished the hunt in what Dean considered record time, though he had a bad feeling as he was driving them back to Stanford. Like something awful was about to happen and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

That feeling panned out when he had to grab his brother out of a burning apartment building, his girlfriend pinned to the ceiling... just like their mother was when Sam was a baby.

Dean had a sinking feeling that this was just the start of something. Something much, much worse than their family had ever dealt with before. And he was afraid for Hayate.

* * *

"What? Yeah, I'll tell her. We'll be sure to make the place a fortress and Jo will take her to and from school. She's in the dining area now... See you in a few days," said Ellen.

Hayate perked up. She could always tell when her father called to ask about her.

"Your dad's coming here in a few days. And he's bringing someone you'll love to meet. Unfortunately he said that there was an incident, so no library without Jo there with you until he gets here, okay?" said Ellen.

"Okay Aunt Ellen," said Hayate.

While her English skills were coming along much better, her accent was still there. So long as they could understand her, Dean didn't care if she kept it. Since it felt weird to call Ellen mom (and she refused to be called Grandma on the grounds that she was _not_ that old), Hayate started calling her Auntie. She called Bobby Grandpa, mostly because he acknowledged he _was_ that old and he practically considered Dean his son.

A few days later Dean came in and immediately went to where Hayate was drawing in her book. Ellen encouraged her to keep up her clothing designs... Hayate was quite the little designer and it made her happy despite the fact that for some reason she had great difficultly walking.

Dean had been upset, especially when he found out that there was nothing physically wrong with her spine to cause slow paralysis.

"Dad!"

"Hey kiddo. How's the designing going?"

"Okay. Jo said she can take me to the fabric shop later once I helped her out with her math homework. It's so easy!"

Dean chuckled. For some reason his kid was a little math genius and Jo took full advantage of Hayate's ability to understand advanced calculus to help her get her homework done faster. In exchange she helped Hayate get new books and things with the money she made beating other hunters at poker.

"Who's the giant?"

Dean snickered at Sam's expression on his face.

"The...giant... is the man I want you to meet. Hayate, this is your Uncle Sammy. Sam, this is Hayate."

"Uncle Sam?" she said.

Sam bent down to Hayate's level. He noticed she had some trouble walking and wondered why.

"Hey there. I'm Sammy."

"Dad said you like to read books a lot."

Sam gave Dean a glare.

"So how long have you had trouble walking?"

"For a long time now. The doctors back in Uminari couldn't find what was wrong," said Hayate.

Dean had mentioned Hayate's mother was Japanese.

Sam then had an idea. To the amusement of Dean, Sam gave Hayate a lift on his shoulders. Hayate squealed with delight from being so high up.

* * *

"Demon possession. Are you serious? She hasn't shown any sign of being possessed and she passed all of Bobby's usual tests. Didn't even flinch from salt and holy water," said Dean.

"Think about it Dean. There are some cases where the possession is a slow-going one, only those are near impossible to spot until it's too late. And it would explain why she has been having trouble walking without any medical reason why."

"How can we find out if that's the reason behind Hayate's paralysis without her learning about our job?"

"Teach her the exorcism. You said she was trying to learn English right? Why not teach her Latin too and see if we can get her to say it instead of us?" said Sam.

Dean liked that plan. It was a way to teach Hayate a new language without her finding out about hunting. And it was harmless enough.

Sam slowly introduced Hayate to Latin. Dean had told Ellen the plan to see if Sam was right about the slow possession, and while she wasn't happy she allowed it. In between hunts Sam got to know his niece and he had to admit that Dean was a better dad than John ever was.

* * *

"Uncle Sammy? What's this phrase mean?"

Sam looked at the passage in Latin and translated it without thinking.

Hayate proved to have quite the knack for languages, as proven by the fact she had learned basic English in two months. So far she could just barely keep up with Sam, but conjugating the words so that she could form sentences was difficult and it didn't help that Latin was a _dead_ language.

"Ready to try again?"

Hayate nodded. Sam had been waiting for this moment for months. Since they were at Bobby's house (Hayate wanted to see her 'grandfather' and Dean had obliged) it was the perfect time to see if Hayate could recite the exorcism. Dean and Bobby were outside arguing over some car or another.

"Let's see you try this one. Remember, you just have to try and say the words right, not translate it. We'll work on that later," said Sam.

Hayate nodded brightly and started sounding out the exorcism. So far she had gotten most of it right, but Sam had to correct her pronunciation a few times before she got it. Her accent was a bit tricky to work with.

About three-quarters of the way through the exorcism, which wasn't that long, Hayate started to look like she was uncomfortable.

"Uncle Sammy? I feel weird."

"How weird?"

"Like there's something pressing on my legs," said Hayate.

Sam knew that he had been right about the slow-possession. Which meant he needed her to complete the exorcism before it figured out what they were doing.

"You want to continue?"

Hayate nodded. She wanted to get this done right so they could have fun reading more books. Bobby had quite the...interesting... collection. Hayate loved reading about the occult.

They soldiered on, and it took Sam a few moments to realize that something or someone was screaming. Rather loudly at that.

Dean and Bobby definitely heard it too, because they rushed in to find the source.

It was coming from Hayate's room.

"Sam, what the hell?"

He merely handed his brother the same ritual Hayate was trying to pronounce with an 'I-told-you-so' expression on his face...or what Dean flippantly liked to call Bitch face number four.

"She was reading this?"

"I told you something was up with her paralysis," said Sam.

Sam went back downstairs with a very confused Hayate while Bobby said the ritual properly. The book Hayate had brought with her from Japan, which had been bound in chains for some bizarre reason, once again put up an unholy racket as something foul began to try and break free.

The second the last syllable was said, there was a black mass that came streaking out of the book...and the chains suddenly broke without warning.

_**Anfang.**_

"Bobby, what the hell is going on?" said Dean. He had his gun aimed at the book, completely confused what was going on.

"How the hell should I know, idjit?!"

Hearing Sam's surprised yelp from downstairs, Dean raced to find out what the hell was happening.

What he found had him even more baffled and confused.

There were four people under what was clearly a ritual circle (though not one he recognized offhand) and one of them had _dog_ ears.

They called themselves the Wolkenritter and claimed to serve Hayate, which made absolutely no sense.

Hayate was out cold in Sam's arms, probably from the sudden shock she had just had. The appearance of the strangers was probably the tipping point.

Dean was most definitely not happy.

* * *

"So let me get this straight. You're tellin' me that you lot (Bobby nodded to the newcomers who were dressed in very odd clothing) came from that book Hayate brought with her. A book that up till this point was bound in chains," said Bobby carefully.

The leader of the group (who called herself Signum) nodded. The first thing Bobby had done was test them out and nothing had effected them. Not even silver for the wolf-man.

"We serve the Book and whoever is the current Master," said Signum tonelessly.

"And that master is my daughter, Hayate?" said Dean. He was taking this well, considering, but he was not happy. At all.

"Yes."

"And you have no connection to hell or any other form of demon," said Dean.

"We've never even seen it, nor do we know what a demon would look like," said Signum.

Dean had a headache. So did Bobby.

"Look, why don't we do a wait-and-see approach. I don't know about you guys but today has just been one headache after another since that thing came out of the book," said Sam tiredly.

"What book?" said Signum sharply.

Sam brought out a familiar book.

"We were concerned for Hayate, so we decided to check on some of the things she had with her to see if they were the cause of her illness. I'm pretty sure that this book had something in it that didn't belong, causing her slow decline," said Sam flatly.

It wasn't the full truth, but it was good enough for most.

"You're saying that the Book of Darkness was possessed?" said Signum incredulous.

Looking back on it, Signum realized it would explain a _lot_. Like why they had difficulty remembering masters once they were sent to a new one. Or why the few times they had looked into a world they had been based on it was destroyed shortly after the Book was complete.

"Is it really called the Book of Darkness?" asked Sam.

"It's what we've always called it," said Shamal, the blond woman.

"Perhaps it was called that after it was possessed by a demon. Either way, that thing is gone now and Bobby said he has something to keep her from being attacked again by anything similar," said Sam.

"We would never allow anything to harm Master Hayate," said Signum sharply.

"Look, we're all tired after dealing with today. How about tomorrow we take two of you on a hunt and see how good you are?" said Dean suddenly.

He was exhausted, frayed, and quite frankly there wasn't enough coffee to deal with this shit without alcohol in it. And Dean wasn't drinking with his daughter in the house.

"The red head can stay with Hayate, since I have the feeling none of you are willing to back down from keeping her safe," said Sam. From the way they acted, it was almost as if they expected to be attacked at any moment. This would keep the peace between both groups until they figured out what they were going to do with this mess.

"Acceptable," said Signum.

* * *

Dean and Sam took Signum and Zafira out on a pretty basic hunt. It was one of the best ways they knew to see how people really were.

It took someone of good character to hunt the things they did without any chance of reward in it.

They came back a few days later...and told Bobby that the Wolkenritter were alright, for something they had never encountered before.

To get a 'Winchester seal of approval' as Bobby called it, these Wolkenritter must be good hunters. Though Bobby did not look forward to telling Ellen that she had four new 'guests' in addition to Hayate. At least Vita (the smallest and 'youngest' of the quartet) could share with Hayate herself.

Ellen wasn't happy about the new bunch. Especially Zafira, but that had less to do with the fact he was a man (of sorts) and more to do with the fact he was a canine. Ellen was allergic to dogs, to Jo's disappointment.

Fortunately for the canine, Ellen's allergies weren't set off by his fur. But he still had to stay outside unless it was raining.

Vita was given the dubious honor of being Hayate's guard, while Signum and Shamal were her escorts. Shamal was quickly liked by the hunters at the bar when they found out she was good at first aid...though Ellen made sure that it was regular aid and not anything to do with their magic.

Signum however was the one most often drafted into hunts with Dean and Sam.

Peace was kept between the Wolkenritter and the hunters, at least for the moment. But even more questions would arise from something that would happen three months after the sudden awakening of the book.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been three long months since Signum and the others had appeared. And it had been rather hectic for Hayate Winchester.

Mostly because with the purging of whatever had possessed the 'Book of Darkness', she had been happily surprised to find she could feel her legs again.

When she could get around with crutches, Ellen had her started on physical therapy. The doctors said she might be able to walk without them in another two months.

Vita still had to keep the wheelchair handy though.

Hayate however had been having some rather odd dreams of a woman with silver hair and reddish brown eyes.

So during a nap on the bench outside the bar while the grown-ups were talking, Hayate decided to try talking to her.

* * *

_Who are you?_

The woman looked surprised Hayate could see her.

_**I have no name. It was lost, along with any chance I had to keep that demon out.**_

_Are you the unison spirit inside the book?_

_**Yes. I am sorry for all the pain I put you through before your family figured out what was wrong with the book.**_

_It's alright. You weren't the one doing it after all. You were just as much a victim as I was._

Hayate gently touched the woman's face, and felt warmth envelop her. The woman felt like a gentle hug, safe and kind. She had been through as much hardship as the Wolkenritter because of that nasty spirit, but she had been unable to speak out. She had even lost her name because of that thing.

_How about I give you a new name? Something that sounds better than Book of Darkness?_

_**I would like that.**_

_From now on, you're not a curse. You are a strong wind of blessing, a song that rouses even the most weary soul. From now on, your name will be... Reinforce._

Reinforce smiled. It was as if Hayate had touched upon her true nature to find the perfect name for something like her. It sounded much better than what her true master had once called her at any rate.

**New name registered. Call me Reinforce from now on, Master.**

The voice sounded exactly like the one Dean and Sam had heard months ago when the book woke up so abruptly in response to the demon's removal. Reinforce had accepted her new master, and before the book was even filled.

Hayate was woken up before Reinforce could tell her about the Trickster and how nabbing his linker core could keep the demon that had attached itself to the book from coming back.

Most of the hunters inside the bar honored Dean's request to keep their mouth shut about work, because none of them wanted to be responsible for giving an innocent girl nightmares about the monsters that existed out there.

The few who didn't care about that were quickly taken out by Signum before Hayate overheard them and told not to come back until they learned to keep their trap shut by Ellen.

* * *

Hayate was rolling her wheelchair out of the library when she heard a voice call out to her. The only reason she turned was because she recognized it as one of the twin sisters that worked as secretaries for her mystery 'uncle' Graham.

"_Hayate-chan! There you are! We were so worried when we heard you hadn't been heading to the hospital!"_ said Aria.

Aria and Lotte had gone to observe how Hayate was doing, seeing as how the Book of Darkness was going to wake up from it's slumber soon. They had been alarmed to find she hadn't been seen in quite some time, and a quick inquiry from their master revealed Hayate hadn't been to the doctor in several months.

"_Aria-san? What are you doing in America?"_ asked Hayate, turning her wheelchair to face the woman.

Signum and Shamal were close nearby, so Vita had gone ahead to meet up with Jo. Zafira was waiting back at the Roadhouse.

"_Do you have any idea how worried we were when we found out you weren't in your home? Why are you in America anyway?"_ scolded Aria.

Hayate realized that this didn't exactly look good, but in her defense they had left her for two months without telling her when they were coming back, if at all. She wasn't expecting them to return so soon.

She had already explained to her doctor that she might have found her biological father in America, so the hospital had cleared her for travel, provided she call once she had proof they were related. She had sent a copy of the DNA test to her primary physician in Uminari and they had considered the matter closed.

Hayate still kept in contact with the woman, even telling her that they had found the source of her paralysis and that she was now on physical therapy. She had sounded relieved that Hayate would regain the ability to walk.

Lotte appeared behind her sister and suggested they go out for ice cream, for old times sake. Hayate didn't see a problem with that, but quickly realized her mistake when she blacked out in her chair as soon as Lotte touched the metal.

She woke up an hour later...back in her home in Uminari city, with the twins downstairs talking to someone in English.

Hayate slowly made her way along the wall to see if she could catch what they were saying. From the way they were acting she was betting that the twins had no idea she could speak English now.

"_That's right father, she was in America of all places. No, it doesn't look like the book is awake."_

There was a pause, but Hayate just barely caught the sound of Aria saying something else to her 'father'.

"_We have no idea how she got to America. And the doctors won't tell us anything, saying that we don't have any authority to see her records. All they said was that her primary guardian had changed and that the one paying the bills had been notified already. They were about to call security on us!"_

Hayate had heard enough. It was clear that Aria and Lotte were working for someone, and that they likely wanted Reinforce. Which meant they needed her, seeing as how Reinforce had fully bonded to her core once the bad spirit had been exorcised.

As quickly as she could without drawing attention, she got back onto the bed and covered up. Lotte came in to see if she was still sleeping, and when she was satisfied that Hayate was still out cold from whatever they had done to knock her out, left. But she left the door open.

"_It was nothing. I must have been hearing things,"_ said Lotte.

"_Either way she'll be waking up soon. Are you sure she won't remember anything?"_

"_The spell I hit her with knocks out short term memory. As far as she knows she never left Uminari,"_ said Lotte irritably.

The two left, and Hayate stayed in that bed until she was sure they were gone. Reinforce spoke up.

_**I don't like this. Why are they after you?**_

_I have no idea. But I'm more curious as to why they grabbed me like that. Oh no, what about Signum and Shamal?_

Reinforce tested the area around them.

_**There are spells against telepathic messages outside the house. However there are things that can't be blocked. Like praying for example.**_

Hayate blinked.

_Praying?_

_**There are certain creatures in the world that respond to prayer. One of which I know for a fact is very partial to young children. If we can call them here, we might be able to get back home.**_

_Who?_

_**Knowing that idiot, he's probably going by Loki now. It would explain why there are certain spells in the book that weren't added by me that have appeared over the centuries,**_ said Reinforce sourly.

She had always wondered why there were distinct references to a pantheon she had never gone near. The Belkans had taken it in stride, but she suspected it had something to do with her link to a certain prankster she knew.

_So... I should pray to Loki?_

_**First let's throw these blasted cats off our scent by letting them believe you don't know they kidnapped you. Once we know they're gone we can try calling Loki to us.**_

It was weird being in Japan again. But Hayate was nothing if not adaptable. She decided to use the opportunity to really make her so-called uncle suffer financially by going on a miniature shopping spree.

Her 'uncle' was still paying the bills, which was why the house remained empty even after she left. That also meant she had plenty of money in her account to finally get a few things she normally wouldn't be able to in America, not without a hefty fee anyway.

After the third day, Reinforce felt someone going off world from nearby. Hayate immediately went clothes shopping and even picked up a bunny doll for Vita, who loved rabbits. Once she had everything in a suitcase she did as Reinforce suggested.

She started praying...mostly to Gabriel but every once in a while she tried Loki, the pagan god.

Her uncle, Sam, was a follower of Gabriel ever since he was a kid and one of the rare churches dedicated to the arch angel had protected him from a particularly vicious ghost that had followed Dean home from a hunt. He had prayed to the arch angel and his brother managed to kill the ghost before it broke through.

So Sam had told Hayate stories of the angel whenever they stayed at Bobby's before bed. Even Vita liked listening to those. Sam had even gotten Hayate something to go along with the anti-possession amulet Bobby had given her the minute that spirit was out of the book. It was a talisman that had the symbols commonly associated with the patron Saint of messengers (and also known as the angel of mercy) Gabriel.

After the second day of trying to reach the arch angel, she finally got a response. Probably because the last prayer had been accompanied by Reinforce's annoyed voice.

* * *

Gabriel (currently hiding as the pagan Loki) was curious. Someone had been trying to reach him for two days straight, calling him by both of his names and it was from Japan of all places. The last prayer had come with a spike of Grace that felt far too familiar for him to continue ignoring.

So he flew over to find out who was trying to contact him.

It was a kid.

He carefully avoided the strange wards almost layered over the house. From the sound of her prayers (and he had listened to them) someone had grabbed her and then put her in this house. They clearly didn't want her leaving.

The girl spotted him and the first thing she said was in English. Accented English but still English.

"Are you Loki, the pagan god?"

"I am," he said, popping a sucker into existence. He noticed she had an odd pair of amulets around her neck...one of them belonging to his angel name.

He tried sensing for the other voice he had heard along the kid's but couldn't find it.

"Look kid, why'd you pray to me? I'm not exactly one of the better know pagans out there."

"Reinforce said that you were one of the few things that could slip past whatever is blocking me from calling my dad and uncle in America. The phone was disconnected right before I woke up the morning after I was taken."

"Again, why me? Why not, I don't know, Micheal the arch angel?"

"Because Reinforce mentioned he wasn't exactly nice, and that while Gabriel was a prankster he went missing a long time ago."

"Who is Reinforce?"

_**I am, you cowardly idiot. Your brothers are morons,**_ said a voice without warning.

Gabriel wouldn't normally reacted except that voice was accompanied by the same Grace that had brought him here to begin with.

_How..._

_**Long story short, some little idiot knocked me out of heaven by accident, where I was picked up and reforged into a new shape before having an AI shoved down my throat. I absorbed it and now I'm stuck like this. Fortunately Hayate here is a much better master than the last lot were and her family managed to get rid of a demon I somehow picked up.**_

Gabriel winced. Great, his 'horn' could now talk. He could just tell she was never going to let him live down the fact he had left her behind. Still, at least now he knew why he had sensed that power in the kid's prayer.

"So who told you about Gabriel?" he asked.

"My uncle Sammy. He said he always believe Gabriel was watching him after he ran into a church dedicated to the angel when a ghost followed dad home. They're our favorite bedtime stories when we visit grandpa."

Gabriel came inside and Hayate told him exactly what happened. He was not happy she had been grabbed from her family just because some idiot was trying to get his horn for some reason.

"I'll take you home. But first we might have to make a pit stop so we know those cat people aren't going to find you once we leave," said Gabriel.

* * *

Reinforce absorbed a good portion of Gabriel's core and nearly filled the book up in the process. As a result, it would take a few days before he could take Hayate back to Bobby's house.

Because of this, Gabriel had an indirect connection to Hayate through Reinforce. He even blessed her talisman from Sam as an after thought to keep track of her.

There were less than a hundred pages left to fill in the book now.

Loki (he was Loki now) was carrying Hayate in his arms, since they had left the wheelchair behind at the house. He had even shrunk her suitcase to make it easier to carry.

Bobby wasn't at the house, mostly because they were all out looking for Hayate. But Zafira had agreed to stay behind in case she showed up.

Said wolf took one look at the unknown person carrying his master and growled.

"Zafira it's okay!" said Hayate quickly, "Is grandpa home?"

"Bobby went out with your dad and uncle trying to find you. What happened?"

"It's a long story. It's just lucky I managed to get Loki's attention or I would still be stuck in Japan," said Hayate tiredly.

The wolf shifted to his humanoid form, to Loki's amusement.

"Are you the Trickster Loki?" he asked.

"I am. I happen to have a soft spot for kids, and her prayers alone caught my attention."

"You have our thanks for returning Master Hayate. We have been very worried since she went missing while Shamal and Signum were on watch," said Zafira.

"Well you should be on the look out. The ones that took her are a pair of weird cat spirits that can travel large distances in a short period of time. There were these strange wards over the house she was stashed at."

Zafira produced an orb of pure magic.

"It felt like that! Only the wavelength was a bit different."

"Mages. Just what we didn't need."

"Um, Zafira? Could you take me down to the panic room in the basement? That way grandpa won't freak out when he finds out I'm back and I can avoid most of the tests he'll likely put me through."

"Tests?" said Loki sharply.

"Grandpa, dad and uncle Sam are all Omnyouji. But I think they don't want me to know about that just yet."

"They're hunters. Paranoia is their bread and butter," snorted Zafira.

"That explains the amulet next to the talisman..." muttered Loki.

Zafira accepted Hayate (and the suitcase was left next to the front door) and put her securely in the panic room below. Once the door was closed, he went to talk to this Loki.

"So who are you really?"

"Me? I'm the original owner of the true form of that book she has. The spirit that inhabits it made sure I heard her call for help. I happen to like the deviant and evil, yet highly huggable runt. She's funny."

"What am I going to tell Dean and the others? A Trickster saved her?"

Loki looked slightly uncomfortable.

"Tell them that her uncle's bedtime stories aren't entirely full of crock and that the talisman he gave her helped," said Loki. Then he vanished. Zafira couldn't sense him anywhere.

So he decided to tell Signum what happened.

_**Call off the search. Someone brought Hayate back. She's locked in the panic room until we get the full story.**_

**Are you sure it's her?** Signum asked. She was with Sam and Dean.

_**Her scent matches and she has the book. You know that the book wouldn't leave it's master after bonding,**_ said Zafira irritably.

**I'll tell the others.**


	4. Chapter 4

It took them two days to get to Bobby's and in that time Bobby himself made sure it really was Hayate.

Hayate was firmly scolded for going anywhere near the two women, even if they had taken care of her when her parents died. The fact she had managed to attract a Trickster (who was nice enough to return her home unharmed) also got her in trouble.

Sam however, when told by Zafira what the Trickster had told him rather cryptically, felt vindicated that his belief in angels wasn't entirely wrong.

"So let me get this straight. A pair of cats, like Zafira over here, managed to knock you out and took you back to your home in Japan?" said Dean.

Hayate had waited until everyone was at Bobby's before she told them the full story, or what she remembered.

"I think they're after Reinforce," said Hayate.

"Who?"

"The book. She didn't have a proper name so I gave her one," explained Hayate.

"That makes sense. The Book is a unison device primarily, so it's possible it's name was lost when it was possessed. Hayate could theoretically give the device a new name if she was bonded to it," said Signum.

"What's a unison device?" asked Dean.

Signum took out the strange dagger-like necklace from around her neck.

To the shock of the hunters, the dagger turned into a rather impressive sword that looked like it had a gun system attached.

"This is my device, Laevantien. It is what's known as an Intelligent Device. It's primary function is to make it easier for me to cast spells when active."

The sword returned back into it's dagger form.

"The Book however is something slightly different. It's primary function is to bond with it's partner and when active, to merge with them, sometimes changing physical details. They are much harder to find because they require more advanced programming and manufacturing processes. It is entire possible that the original identifying data for the book was lost when it was possessed. Hayate could rename it after the spirit was removed."

"...Is it possible to get one of those devices?" asked Sam.

"Not on Earth. And it would be unwise for one of us to take you to an Administered world considering we are a bit well known to the TSAB."

"TSAB?"

"The Time-Space Administration Bureau. We've had run-ins with them in the past, most of which did not end well. If we were to show up on an Administrated world they would know that the Book was active again and come after Hayate. I suspect these... familiars... that took Hayate back to Uminari might belong to someone from that group."

"I think I remember this weird event in Uminari shortly before I left the first time. Something about a giant tree in the city and some weird light show," said Hayate.

"It's not uncommon for Mages to visit non-administered worlds for vacation. Maybe one accidentally set off another Lost Logia," said Shamal.

"Lost Logia?"

"Artifacts from worlds that have been destroyed. The Book of Darkness, or Reinforce I suppose, is classed as one. It's considered very dangerous to the Bureau," explained Signum.

"Wait, so these guys would come after Hayate even though she's never done anything to them?"

"I remember them mentioning how the book wasn't awake yet. I don't think they know that the spirit was exorcised from it, or that it's almost complete," said Hayate.

"Wait, almost complete?!" said Signum. This was news to her.

Hayate brought out the book, and the Wolkenritter's jaws dropped when they saw that almost every page was filled. Hayate handed it over to Shamal who counted it.

"One hundred thirteen pages are left blank. Hayate, how did you get this many so quickly?"

"Reinforce knows Loki from before, and he agreed to let me absorb most of his core. Most of it came from him...it's also why I took an extra two days to get back."

"Loki, as in the Trickster?" said Bobby.

"What happens when the book is filled?" asked Sam.

"We don't know," said Signum.

"Most of the time our masters use us to finish the last pages. Then we get summoned back in the hands of a new one," said Vita.

"Well that's not happening this time," said Hayate.

"Absolutely not," agreed Sam.

"Which reminds me, I brought something back for all of you," said Hayate. She brought out the suitcase Loki had shrunk, which had grown without warning overnight.

"What's that?"

"Souvenirs."

Inside was clothes for Shamal, Vita, Signum and even some for Zafira. For her uncle she brought several books on Japanese legends. Bobby got some new reference material to work with. As for Dean?

"What are these?" asked Dean, picking up what appeared to be slips of paper and a book on how to make more.

"Talismans. I figured since you're all Omnyouji you might find it easier to use these rather than use up all the salt you seem to carry everywhere."

Bobby, who had been taking a drink of coffee when she said that, started choking.

"You alright?" asked Sam.

"I'm fine," said Bobby, once he cleared his throat, before he turned his attention to Hayate, "And what makes you think we're Omnyouji?"

Hayate gave him a look that was very descriptive.

"The salt, the weapons, all those weird books? Not to mention the fact that you have a panic room made of iron with occult symbols lined with salt and what appeared to be some sort of satanic circle?" she listed on her fingers.

Bobby snorted.

"Seems your kid is smarter than you are Dean. Then again she does take more after Sam," said Bobby.

"What's an Omnyouji?"

"It's the Japanese version of a hunter. Should have known she'd figure it out once I caught her borrowing books from my collection. How long have you known?"

"I didn't figure it out until they showed up. After that I started to put things together and figured out you were trying to keep the fact you hunt spirits and demons from me. I just didn't say anything," said Hayate.

Dean looked rather upset his kid knew what he did for a living.

"Relax idjit. Omnyouji is considered an acceptable career in Japan...there are entire families dedicated to being hunters. How much do you know?"

"Mostly that Aunt Ellen runs a bar for people like you but they're on strict orders not to mention it," said Hayate.

"Hayate, despite what you might think we are not going to drag you into our lifestyle. We might prepare you just in case, but if you want to be a hunter it'll have to wait until you're thirteen at least. And we won't be training you how to handle a gun until you're old enough to understand the danger. Knives are acceptable, but guns are not until you hit puberty," said Dean firmly.

Hayate nodded. She knew what a gun looked like and Ellen had made a point to put all fire arms well out of reach for her, as well as put a lock on them. Knives were far less dangerous than a gun was for someone as young as she was.

"If you want to learn more about the supernatural things we go after, you can ask us. But aunt Ellen is still under orders to keep details about the hunts they go on quiet around you. The last thing we need is for you to get nightmares," said Sam.

Sam could tell Hayate would be able to handle learning about what they hunted better than he had initially. Probably because of the culture she originated from. Japan was filled with stories of spirits, demons and gods. However reading about monsters and coming face-to-face with one were two entirely different things. And hearing first hand accounts of hunts could give her nightmares, which Dean was determined to avoid.

"Until we find out what those cats want, you are not to go anywhere without one of the knights with you. Which means, Vita, that next time you send Shamal or Zafira to find Jo," said Dean.

Vita looked away. She had gotten chewed out by Signum, Ellen _and_ Dean when they found out why Hayate had been left alone long enough to be grabbed. She was not going to let it happen again if she could help it.

* * *

A month passed, and things seemed to go back to normal.

However that was just an illusion. Hayate was in her room with Vita and Zafira, crutches by her bed in case she felt like walking.

For the most part she could now forgo the wheelchair entirely. She hadn't felt the need to find a seat after walking too long in several days now. The doctors told her she would make a full recovery in a month or so.

She was almost finished with her math homework when she heard two familiar voices below.

"Aria and Lotte," she said.

"The familiars?" asked Vita. Hayate nodded.

**_Head's up. The familiars have shown up in the bar,_** Vita said telepathically to the others.

**I see them. Seems they're trying to masquerade as Child Services... won't they be in for a nasty shock_,_** said Signum with a growl.

Ellen saw the discreet hand signal from Shamal across the room, and knew that the two before her were trouble.

"Can I help you?"

"Ma'am, we're from the Child Protection Agency," said Aria. She brought out an official looking badge that Ellen knew was fake. A very convincing fake, but a fake nonetheless.

"What's this about?"

"We've had reports concerning a girl in this establishment. Apparently someone saw the child being served alcohol," said Lotte.

Ellen barely refrained from snorting. She was the bartender and none of the idiots who came here would be stupid enough to serve Hayate alcohol. She would skin them alive if they tried and they knew it.

"Can I see your badge?" asked Ellen.

Lotte handed hers over, and was surprised when Ellen grabbed the phone.

"What are you doing?"

"Calling the local Child Protection Agency field office. Shouldn't be to hard to confirm your story," said Ellen flatly.

They had shown up shortly after Hayate had come to live in the Roadhouse, mostly to insure that she was in a safe environment considering she was up for a green card. Ellen had gotten a letter stating that she was an acceptable foster parent to Hayate, but that they would make sporadic visits at least twice a year.

Hayate had gotten her green card a week ago. She officially had duel citizenship in Japan and America.

Seeing the panic in the familiar's eyes, they quickly found themselves surrounded by several guns of varying makes and models. All aimed at them.

"Next time you try to impersonate someone official, don't try it around people who use fake government ID's regularly," said Ellen dryly.

"Or so close to when a child was kidnapped," said Signum with a growl.

Seeing the alarm grow in their eyes, Signum knew that they were shocked to see the Blazing General so early. The book wasn't supposed to be awake for another week at least.

"Signum? Is everything alright down there?" called Hayate.

Aria and Lotte turned to see... Hayate in crutches? That was impossible.

"It's fine Hayate. These two were just leaving," said Signum.

"Oh. Okay. Aria, Lotte, next time you see your Master tell him I don't appreciate being used," said Hayate annoyed.

"Now, get out of here before we skin and salt your furry hides," growled Ellen. She did not appreciate someone trying to kidnap a child from her home.


	5. Chapter 5

Ellen was about to go out for groceries when Bobby called with bad news. The second she heard what was going on, she immediately sent Signum to get Hayate and Vita out of class.

"What's going on?" asked Signum.

"There's been an attack. Dean is in critical condition at the hospital and Sam said that the doctors aren't very optimistic about his condition. Bobby said that Hayate should go in case we need to say goodbye," said Ellen.

"I'll get Hayate and Vita. Maybe Shamal can do something to improve his condition," said Signum, grabbing a coat.

Signum had been allowed to drive a car, which made getting around much easier and didn't need an explanation. So long as she never got pulled over no one would need to know she didn't have a license.

She was a better driver than Jo was, to the girl's annoyance.

"Signum? What's happening?" asked Hayate, moving her crutches with practiced ease. The doctors were hopeful she could lose those in another month, if she didn't take things too fast. As it was, she was already walking without them for short periods.

"There's been an accident. Your father's in the hospital and it doesn't look good. Hopefully Shamal might be able to help out but I wouldn't get my hopes up," said Signum.

Hayate slowly got into the car, having to rely on Signum for help. Vita was already waiting next to a smaller Zafira. Shamal had already teleported straight to the hospital.

* * *

John Winchester was heading towards his son Dean's room, mostly to see how bad his condition was for himself. He wasn't expecting his other son to freeze upon seeing someone down the hall.

Sam walked past his father and went to a woman with long rose-colored hair with a girl about eight or nine with crutches.

"What are you doing here?"

"We got a call about what happened from grandpa. Where's dad?" asked the girl with crutches.

"He's in that room over there. Hayate, I don't think you should see him like that," said Sam.

The girl, Hayate, ignored him and headed straight for Dean's room.

It was around then that Sam realized his father overheard the entire thing.

"Sam, who is that?"

Sam flinched at the sound of Hayate's shocked gasp and muffled sob, before he turned to John.

"Hayate. Dean's daughter."

John's eyebrows shot up. Dean had a daughter and didn't think to tell his own father?

"We didn't want her to be dragged into our work, so we kept our mouth shut about her. Dean didn't want you to know about her," said Sam guiltily.

"And her 'grandfather'?" asked John. He couldn't believe his sons thought so little of him that they would go to great lengths to keep his grandchild away from him.

"Bobby Singer," said the woman flatly.

"Who are you?"

"Signum. Sam, has Shamal said anything?"

"Only that his condition is a bit more severe than she's used to, and that something seems to be keeping him unconscious despite what she's been able to do," said Sam.

Shamal had already healed Sam's arm, but it was easier to keep it on rather than explain how it healed so fast. Some of Dean's injuries were beyond what she could do in a civilian hospital with people watching, but she had been able to alleviate some of the more severe injuries discreetly.

However she also said that Dean's mind seemed to be showing unusual activity, like it was highly active.

Considering what he saw when he went to visit John a few hours ago, Sam was betting his brother was having an out of body experience.

A young red haired girl with pig tailed and a bunny-themed bag around her shoulder (Hayate had stitched the rabbits on the plain looking bag for her) walked up to Sam.

"Uncle Sam, there's something weird in this hospital."

"Weird how?"

"It looks almost human, but it's kinda see-through and the last room it went in someone died," said the girl flatly.

"Are you absolutely sure about that?"

The girl nodded.

"A reaper. Just what we didn't need," sighed Sam.

"Vita, guard Hayate. I'll see if I can't convince it to leave Dean alone," said Signum.

"Right. Zafira's with Grandpa," said Vita.

* * *

Hayate was very upset to see her father laid out on the hospital bed. Shamal had done what she could, but unless they could sneak in when the place was empty or find where Dean's spirit had vanished off to, things were looking grim.

A man with an unshaven beard and a broken arm walked in. He somewhat resembled her father Dean.

However she was betting this was 'Uncle' John, the one her father wanted her to avoid if at all possible.

"So you're Dean's daughter. I'm surprised he never thought to mention you," said John.

He definitely would have answered a call from his son about him having an illegitimate child. That was quite possibly one of the few reasons he would have called Dean back before now.

"And you are?"

"John Winchester. His father," he said flatly.

Hayate was a good judge of character, and from what she saw of him she knew there was a reason why her father had kept her far, far from him.

This John Winchester reminded her of the Vampire hunter Gordon, and not in a good way. He was obsessed, so much so that he might try to use the Wolkenritter if he knew about what they could do.

If Signum hadn't beaten Gordon up the one time he tried to trick her into going on a hunt with him, she might have been used as bait for the crazed man.

She might not have been turned if bitten by vampires, but there was no way any of them would go on a hunt with him. Ellen had pretty much banned him for life after that time.

"Hayate, why don't you and Vita go get something to eat. I know you must have missed lunch getting here so fast, and going hungry isn't going to help your dad any," said Sam coming in.

"Okay uncle Sammy," she said. Sam gave her enough for the machines or if she wanted to order something from the cafe.

Sam turned to John.

"Let's get one thing straight _dad_. Hayate is not going to be a hunter unless she wants to be, and everyone at the Roadhouse knows to keep their traps shut about their hunts around her. We don't want her to have nightmares of something about to eat her."

"So you're just going to leave her unprotected from what's out there?" said John.

"Who said anything about leaving her unprotected? She's surrounded by hunters and people capable of keeping her safe at all times. Hayate knows that there are things out there most people wouldn't believe and that we hunt those that hurt humans. But she also knows we're not taking her on a hunt until she hits puberty at least," said Sam.

Signum came in looking grim.

"There is definitely a reaper here. And she's already trying to convince Dean to give up so she can have his soul. Though I have the feeling he followed me back to the room."

"How can you tell?" asked Sam.

"I overheard her talking to someone extremely stubborn. The only one stubborn enough to argue with someone who reaps souls is a certain pie-eating moron," said Signum dryly.

Behind her Dean's spirit looked extremely offended.

"Well unfortunately it seems dear old Dad here is determined to bond with his grandchild," said Sam annoyed.

Dean's spirit reacted to that news by breaking the vase on the table in the room.

"He definitely followed you here," said Sam.

Sam took a wild stab to where Dean's soul was and informed him "I'm not letting her spend any time with him alone Dean. You can relax."

"Do you really think that little of me?" asked John angrily.

"You forced us into becoming hunters and forced Dean into growing up before he was ready for it. I had nightmares the day I found out what you did for a living," said Sam flatly.

John left the room furious. He couldn't believe his own sons thought that he was a danger that they needed to protect Dean's daughter from.

* * *

It was Bobby who ran into John after he left the room.

"Finally found out about Hayate?"

"I can't believe they think I'm as bad as the things we go after," John ground out.

"I can. One of Dean's rules when it comes to his kid is that she's not forced into our lifestyle. All the hunters at the bar know to keep quite about their hunts around her, because they don't want to be responsible for giving an innocent girl like her nightmares about the monsters in the dark. And let's face it Winchester, if you had known about Hayate you would have dragged her into our world and ruined her innocence about what's really out there," said Bobby.

"No I wouldn't! I would have kept an eye on her and not dragged her into this mess! Even Adam doesn't know about what I do for a living!" said John, before he suddenly clammed up, realizing what he had just let slip.

"Adam? Who's Adam?" said Bobby.

John kept his mouth shut, but it was too late.

"Winchester, who is Adam? And don't lie," growled Bobby.

"Adam... is my son. My other son."

Bobby pinched the bridge of his nose.

"You mean to tell me Sam and Dean have a half-brother out there that they didn't know about?" he said.

John didn't say a word, but his expression spoke volumes.

"Like father, like son," muttered Bobby.

"What do you mean by that?"

"The minute Dean learned about his daughter in Japan, he almost moved heaven and earth just to bring her to America when he found out she was all alone. She had been living alone for two months when she found a letter from her mother explaining about her birth father not being the man she was told he was. Then she called me and I helped arranged to bring her here," said Bobby.

"And the red heads?"

"They showed up later."

John sighed. It was a hard blow learning he had a granddaughter all this time and that his sons felt that they had to keep her from him for her safety. It spoke volumes about how they felt about their own father. The fact he was so upset that he let slip about his third son to Bobby... it was a hard thing to take.

However Dean's condition wasn't improving, and there was no way he was going to deprive his granddaughter of her father, not after realizing it was his fault that his sons had kept her from him.

"Bobby, can you get a few things for me?"

Bobby saw what was on the list, and knew what John was planning. He was going to make a deal.

"You're a damn idjit, but I'll get them. If I were you I would write a letter to the boys explaining about their half brother before you try it," said Bobby.

He wasn't going to stop John from making a deal. That was his problem, not Bobby's.

Dean made a 'miraculous' recovery after John vanished for a few hours. He did hand Sam a letter hastily written before he left the room and collapsed.

Hayate was so relieved her father was alright that she refused to leave Bobby's house for a full week and insisted on helping him repair the Impala.

Considering how rarely they got to do anything that qualified as father-daughter bonding, Dean didn't mind calling the school and excusing his daughter for a few days.

* * *

Gil Graham was having a bad year. It started out when he ceased getting the bills for Hayate's treatment for the unexplained paralysis in her legs, and it only got worse when a few discreet inquiries proved that she wasn't even in Japan anymore.

It had taken him months to finally locate her, and when he brought her back to the house the girl slipped through the extensive wards around the area in less than a week!

He knew the book had awakened too early, far too early for any of his plans. The strangest thing of all was that when he finally did get a copy of her medical records (which had taken more favors than he was comfortable with), he found out that somehow the girl was starting to make a full recovery from whatever kept her from walking.

Which as far as he was aware was impossible.

But the clincher was the fact that somehow Hayate had found herself in a home that was full of people who were all too willing to shoot his beloved familiars without hesitation. And that they knew a fake ID when they saw it.

It made him wonder how she had managed to find such good protectors...and how he was supposed to stop the Book of Darkness from hurting anyone else every again now.


	6. Chapter 6

"You want to do what now?" asked Dean. It had been two months and Hayate's birthday was coming up and he wanted to make it special.

"We know that whoever created those familiars that abducted Hayate will likely try again soon. So we want to complete the book since it only needs a hundred pages to be finished. That way they can't harm her or do anything to her," said Signum.

They had discussed this with Hayate a few days ago, and Reinforce was all for it, provided that they get permission to drain the cores first. The last thing they needed was for the TSAB to be drawn into this before Hayate became the permanent Master of the book and it's contents.

Especially considering the fact that once she was complete, Hayate would be safe from more than just an organization that had been haunting Reinforce for years now. Boy, were the Wolkenritter and the TSAB going to be in for a shock when her form changed!

"How long would it take you to complete, and is this going to bite us in the ass later?"

"It shouldn't take too long, and Hayate was very firm on the conditions we had to meet before we finished the book. We have to get permission before we drain anyone so that the Bureau can't come after us for attacking their mages," said Signum immediately.

It was a distinct change from their former masters.

"What will Hayate gain once this thing is complete?"

"According to Reinforce, once complete she will be able to keep Hayate safe from anything trying to possess her, and she'll be able to use her linker core without damaging it. Another thing is that this will keep her safe later once the TSAB realizes that the 'book' will no longer go out of control once it's completed."

"Does she have to do it now?"

"No, but the sooner it's done the better off we'll be later," said Signum.

"Then it can wait until after her birthday at least," said Dean firmly.

They could go 'core hunting' as Dean privately called it after Hayate celebrated her eighth birthday.

There were a surprising number of hunters at Hayate's birthday party. Then again, most of them were regulars at Ellen's bar and had become smitten with the innocent girl who knew about the supernatural and was willing to hear their (slightly edited) stories about what they did.

Finding out Hayate not only knew what Dean and Sam did for a living but was okay with it had made it easier on the hunters at the bar.

So long as they didn't tell her stories that were too scary, they could quit hiding around her. And Hayate admired them for doing a job most people wouldn't even consider without being paid a lot of money first...plus hazard pay.

So yes, the hunters were partial to the little girl who looked up to them.

Hayate's classmates were there as well, while Vita played the discreet bodyguard.

Everyone just loved Zafira, who despite his large size (and thankfully _removable_ gauntlets), was perfectly gentle around the kids. The adults made sure to stay within eyesight of the large wolf-like dog though, for their own peace of mind.

It was the best birthday Hayate had since her mother and step-father died.

The best part of the party? Hayate didn't have to use the crutches once.

* * *

Nanoha Takamachi was a normal girl with a secret. She was a mage. Just recently she became friends with a strange boy named Yuuno who opened up her world and even managed to save another girl her age named Fate, along with her familiar Aruf.

So the thought of others like her on Earth at the time never crossed her mind.

Naturally she was very surprised when a few weeks after Yuuno left to testify for Fate's trial as a witness, a girl with red hair and grumpy looking eyes showed up asking her for help.

"Who are you?"

"Call me Violet. Are you a mage?" she asked bluntly.

Nanoha was surprised the girl new. She didn't recognize her and she was always so careful to keep her practice secret. Yuuno had been firm on that point.

"I am. Why?"

"It's hard to explain, but the one I serve needs to borrow some of your linker core in order to keep the TSAB from coming after her again. The sooner we complete a certain book, the less chance they'll have to come after her later," said Violet.

"You need to borrow some of my core? How does that work?" asked Nanoha. She wasn't outright saying no, which made 'Violet' looked relieved.

"The book that my master inherited absorbs a portion of the linker core to add to it's spell arsenal. Unfortunately it's also a Lost Logia, so the previous users weren't very nice about the absorption process. The TSAB doesn't want it to be filled again because of past users, but we want them to quit coming after her. They've even kidnapped her once just because they were after the book," said Violet.

"That doesn't sound like the TSAB."

"Do you know all the members of the Bureau?" said Violet. Nanoha shook her head. Her only experience with them was the crew of the Arthra. "Then how can you know how they would react to what is classed as a dangerous Lost Logia?"

Nanoha blinked.

"Well the ones I know wouldn't target your master just because she happens to own a Lost Logia."

"But they're not the only ones in the Bureau are they?" countered Violet.

"What exactly will happen if I let you absorb a portion of my core exactly?"

"The process is a lot less painful if it's voluntary from what I heard, but the worst that would happen is that you would be unable to exercise your core for about a week. Our master had hers drained by something we managed to get rid of and it took her very little time for her core to recover. And she's about your age," said Violet.

"And if I said no?"

"She was very firm that we only take voluntary cores, and not attack people. She doesn't want the TSAB to have more reason to come after her," said Violet immediately.

Nanoha thought it over. While the request was unusual, the girl had been upfront about why she needed to borrow some of her magic and a week wasn't too big a downtime. And she had asked politely instead of attacked her outright.

"I can send Sharon back here to make sure you're actually recovering properly," offered Violet.

"Fair enough," said Nanoha.

Violet's absorption of her core was a little uncomfortable, but it didn't feel too painful. Nanoha decided to head home and she went straight to sleep.

A week later, after getting another video letter from Fate, a blond woman with green eyes visited her to insure that she was recovering from the absorption. Sharon looked relieved that Nanoha was recovering just fine and would be practicing magic again in two days at least.

Nanoha thought nothing of it after that, and continued her daily magic practice once she was given the clear.

* * *

"Wow... that red head we found in Uminari had a lot of magic. There's over fifty pages in here," said Vita.

She had been extra careful to hide her real name from the girl, who was at least amicable to having her core drained.

The TSAB couldn't exactly complain when they asked first and made sure that the ones letting them absorb their cores made a full recovery. It was sure to confuse the hell out of them, which amused the Wolkenritter greatly.

"Which means we only need about sixty more to complete the book," said Signum.

"Didn't Hayate say that she absorbed that Trickster's core before he brought her back?" said Vita.

"I think so. Why?"

"So shouldn't it stand to reason we could do the same to the other creatures? It wouldn't be the first time we filled the book with the core of non-humans," said Vita.

"That would be piecemeal," said Signum. Most creatures couldn't fill more than one or two pages.

"But it would mean that the TSAB couldn't come after us for attacking dangerous creatures that are known to attack humans indiscriminately," said Zafira, catching on to Vita's idea.

"And the draining process would give Sam and Dean all the chance they would need to take the monster out," said Shamal.

"Let's ask Hayate if she's alright with it first," said Signum.

So they did. Hayate was fine with them draining the monsters her family went after, especially since it meant they would be keeping her dad and uncle safe as a side effect.

Even if it was slow going, it was worth the time it took to find a new hunt as long as it kept the TSAB from coming after Hayate once it was complete.

* * *

Fate Testarossa was glad to be back on Earth. Even if it meant she might not get to stay, she at least got to see Nanoha again.

However the chance that she might have to leave again soon was quickly stalled when Nanoha mentioned her strange encounter.

"Let me get this straight. A red haired girl about your age with pigtails and angry eyes asked to absorb your linker core...and you _let_ her?" said Chrono.

"She was rather polite about it and she sent someone a week later to make sure I was recovering properly. She said she didn't want the TSAB to kidnap her master again just to get at the Lost Logia she had inherited," said Nanoha.

Considering the girl had at least asked first and made sure she recovered, Nanoha honestly didn't see what the big deal was.

Chrono however was very twitchy. A Lost Logia in the form of a book that absorbed linker cores? That was far too familiar. The only oddity was that the one absorbing it into the book had asked first and insured that her victim recovered after.

"Could you recognize her if you saw her again? Or her friend."

"I'm pretty sure, why?"

Chrono went over to a display and brought up a series of pictures. It took Nanoha two minutes to find the two she had encountered.

"Here they are! She introduced herself as Violet and this is her friend Sharon."

"Shamal and Vita. Is this the book the girl had with her?" asked Chrono.

"That's the same one she had! But it didn't look nearly as ominous," said Nanoha.

"You had a run-in with the Book of Darkness and didn't think it was worth mentioning in your letters?" said Chrono upset.

"Actually Violet... Vita... said that the device's name was Reinforce. Though Vita made an odd comment when she found me."

"What comment was that?"

"She said that the TSAB had kidnapped her master before, but that she had escaped back to her family. And that they tried a second time but they were stopped before they got close. I'm sure if they come here again we can ask them what they meant," said Nanoha reasonably.

* * *

_**There's a TSAB cruiser parked outside Earth. This might be a good time to bring those idiot cats to justice,**_ said Reinforce.

Hayate blinked. She was helping Ellen in the kitchen while Jo tended the bar. Ellen had been pleasantly surprised Hayate knew the basics of how to cook and prepare food. She wasn't allowed to be near the knives without an adult with her, but at least now Ellen had someone to share recipes with. Jo was more of a tomboy and didn't like anything too feminine. She could make something just barely edible, but that was it.

_Why don't we wait until Signum and the others return first?_ Hayate suggested.

Signum and Shamal were out on a hunt with Sam and Dean. It made gathering pages and information on hunts easier, because they could split the jobs. More often than not, Dean was paired with Signum as some form of official police presence while Shamal and Sam acted as reporters.

Between two groups asking for information, it made narrowing things down so much easier. And that was before the two added magic into the mix. So far though, the most they had done on that front was absorb the cores and give Sam and Dean time to take the monster out.

Hayate heard the Impala drive in and grinned. Ellen nodded and let her rush out to meet her father and uncle.

"Dad! Uncle Sammy!"

Dean lent down and let Hayate pull him into a hug. Loki had one thing right about his daughter...she was very huggable. And she didn't mind initiating a hug either. Sam chuckled at the sight. No matter how often he saw it, it was always fun to see his annoying older brother turn into a giant softie whenever he was around his daughter. Sam had no illusions about it either, he knew that Hayate had them practically wrapped around her finger and didn't seem to care.

Hayate then turned to an amused Signum and Shamal.

"Welcome back Signum, Shamal," she said.

"It's good to be home," said Signum.

"Reinforce said that there's a TSAB cruiser orbiting the planet. Maybe now we can get those cats to leave us alone," said Hayate.

Signum didn't look happy about it, but this meant a higher chance they could finish the book and be done with it. This time she was going since they were more likely to listen to an adult, with Shamal as support.

"Who knows, maybe I can finally have some friends to talk to in Japanese," continued Hayate.

While she didn't mind speaking English, she missed having someone to talk to in her native tongue. Sam and Bobby didn't mind keeping their foreign language skills in practice, but it would be nice not to have to switch to English.


	7. Chapter 7

Signum knew that if she waited then the TSAB would find her, so she made a point not to bother hiding in Japan. Sure enough, once they picked up on her face it took little time for someone representing the Bureau to come by. Shamal was waiting patiently in a cafe away from any cameras. Hayate really knew how to design a good disguise.

She was currently in a deep black wig, wearing contacts behind sunglasses and a rather chic-looking dress. It was highly unlikely that the mages from the Bureau would realize she was Signum's back-up until _after_ she brought Klarwind out.

"My name is Enforcer Chrono of the TSAB," stated the boy simply.

Signum only half recognized him, and then she remembered where she had seen him before.

The last time they were active, there was someone who looked quite a bit like this boy in the ship that was taken out by a rampaging Book of Darkness. They had checked the records under a disguise.

"You're not my first choice of people to register a complaint to the Bureau, but I suppose I shall have to work with what we've been given," said Signum bluntly. Chrono blinked.

"Register a complaint?"

"There have been two attempts to kidnap my master illegally, one of which succeeded and the only reason we were even able to get her back is because of outside help. The second time they had the audacity to come in acting as the agency who's job is to relocate children from abusive or unfit homes. Unfortunately for them, the woman currently taking care of my master knows a fake ID when she sees one. I want to know why the Bureau is deliberately coming after our master when she has never once ordered us to attack anyone for their cores," said Signum.

"You came after one of ours a few months ago," Chrono pointed out.

"Nice try, but we were told to ask first and get permission before we absorbed any cores, and if they didn't agree to leave them alone. The girl agreed to let us absorb some of her core and we insured she made a full recovery," said Signum.

Chrono gritted his teeth. If Nanoha hadn't mentioned the odd encounter then they wouldn't have even known that the Book was active again. And by all accounts, the Wolkenritter had not attacked anyone so far, aside from the one encounter with Nanoha in which the girl openly admitted she gave permission first.

Legally they had no reason to go after them just yet, despite the fact that the Book of Darkness was a dangerous Lost Logia. And the allegations of kidnapping were extremely serious, especially when the one taken was a minor.

"Do you have any proof that it was a TSAB agent who attempted to kidnap her?" asked Chrono finally.

Signum reached into her bag.

"Would this count as proof? Our Master's aunt, who is the one acting as her secondary guardian, confiscated this on the second attempt, and our master was able to identify who had taken her the first time," said Signum.

Poor Chrono looked at the picture on the plastic card in shock. He knew that face very well himself.

It was Lotte. Her ears were hidden but he still recognized her.

"Can I have a copy of this?" he asked. He doubted that Signum was willing to part with her only evidence that someone had tried to kidnap her master. He could work with a copy.

Signum handed him a photocopy of the card itself, once he handed the original back.

"Why are you collecting the pages for the book?" Chrono asked, before he was about to leave.

"To prove that the Book of Darkness is no longer cursed. My master's family recognized what it was that plagued it and were able to purge the book. The easiest way to prove our story is to complete the book itself and show that it's not about to go on another rampage," said Signum.

Chrono could acknowledge that. If they really had fixed the book, then there was no legal reason they could go after Signum's new master. She would be labeled like any other mage and left alone.

* * *

A week later Signum went back. This time she had Zafira with her.

"We would need to confirm your story about the book being fixed. As for the allegations of kidnapping, there is a small problem," said Chrono.

"I'm guessing the ones responsible have a well connected master?" Signum said dryly.

Chrono nodded. He was trying to keep _that_ investigation quiet because his former mentor had taken note when word spread about the book being active again. Gil Graham was very well connected and if Chrono handled this wrong then he could get away.

Fortunately he had a very willing witness and a piece of evidence that was very hard to explain away. Both of which would be difficult to get a hold of since they had no idea who Signum's master was or what she looked like.

"Exactly how many pages are left in the book?"

"Most of it was filled by someone who donated their large core to the cause. At this point we have less than fifty pages left to put in the book, and our master was very clear that we take no unwilling cores. She doesn't want any more trouble with the TSAB later," said Signum.

Signum tactfully didn't mention that they had been taking cores from monsters. This kid didn't need to know Earth had issues with demons of all things. The TSAB might get in over their head and Hayate would be upset with her.

"We might be able to scrounge up some volunteers... but we want your word that if something does happen that you'll help us reign the Book in," said Chrono.

"Would you like that in writing?" she asked sarcastically.

"Yes, actually."

Signum rolled her eyes... she had spent large amounts of time around the Winchester brothers and something about Dean's personality seemed to stick to her. In this case his flippant sarcasm. Still, she took out a spare piece of paper from Hayate's bag and a pen. She made a sworn statement that should anything happen to cause the book to go out of control that the Wolkenritter would help to deal with it. Chrono accepted it rather gracefully.

With any luck, the book wouldn't go berserk and they could put the entire case behind them.

* * *

Dean and Sam were nervous, and understandably so. They were in a country they had never been before and there was a chance that things could go catastrophically wrong. However when Signum told them what was going to happen, they wanted to be there for Hayate just in case.

Signum had the book with her and Chrono brought two volunteers who had agreed to let her absorb their cores.

They were both just kids, easily Hayate's age if not slightly older.

Shamal drained the girl first, and she produced nearly thirty pages on her own. The boy gave ten, leaving five pages left. And there was no way Chrono was agreeing to having his core drained.

"_Only five pages left. But I think it might be better to make sure these two properly heal from having their cores drained before we try to finish the book first," _said Signum once she checked it.

Chrono was surprised that Signum was being so considerate of their victims.

Shamal examined the two blonds (though one was a bright blond and the other was more of a sandy blond) and said _"A week at most and they'll be good as new."_

"_How do you plan to fill the rest of the book?"_ asked Chrono.

"_The same way we've filled ten pages. Hunt monsters and stop them from harming innocents,"_ said Signum.

"_I thought you said that all of your victims agreed to have their core drained?" _said Chrono sharply.

"_Don't look at us that way, gaki. I said we don't attack mages. Monsters that target innocent civilians are free game according to our master, and it gives her family time to get rid of them before they kill again."_

Nanoha, who had come with Fate and Yuuno (the bright blond and sandy blond respectively), spoke up.

"_Um... are your master's family Omnyouji?_"she asked, raising her hand.

"_Their American equivalent, yes. They hunt down the creatures that attack normal humans and put ghosts to rest permanently, all without being paid. They weren't exactly happy when the book was awakened so abruptly," _said Signum dryly.

"_Nanoha, what are Omnyouji?"_ asked Chrono.

"_People who specifically hunt down bad spirits, demons and creatures who otherwise make a nuisance of themselves. It's not exactly a popular career choice and it takes years of training before you can hunt the spirits down properly,"_ said Nanoha.

"_If you want a basic description of what her family does, I can put you in contact with someone who speaks Japanese fluently... unless you have someone in your crew who speaks English. Her grandfather is someone who gets contacted regularly by people wanting to know more about how to take out the monsters,"_ offered Signum.

Bobby might be pissed with her offering his number, but frankly she didn't care. The sooner they got the TSAB off their backs, the better.

* * *

"So how are you really going to fill the last five pages?" asked Dean the next morning.

"Both you and Sam have linker cores. They've grown small from disuse, but they're still there. They might be enough for five pages... and if that doesn't work we'll go after a vampire coven or something similar," said Signum. She was clutching her morning coffee like a life-line.

Hayate was still asleep next to Vita, who was clutching her rabbit doll. They were all at Bobby's house, since it would raise less questions appearing there than it would at Ellen's, where a civilian might see them. Besides, Bobby had a panic room they could stash Hayate in that was layered with spells to keep it invisible from any ships orbiting the planet.

"We have magic?"

"We might be able to get you and Sam devices, depending on how this plays out. Once the TSAB realizes we're not a threat anymore it would make getting around much easier. Though I have to warn you, they don't exactly take credit cards."

"What would they take?" asked Dean.

"Silver. Gold might be valuable on Earth, but outside it you'd get more for silver," said Signum immediately.

"...Think they would object to slightly used silver weapons?" asked Dean.

"Clean off the blood and they might accept it," said Signum just as easily.

Werewolves and shifters were highly vulnerable to silver weapons.

Dean heard a certain grumpy red head wake up. Vita hated mornings, which Dean was perfectly fine with because he hated them too. Especially when he was hungover. Hayate was soon to get up as well, since Vita getting out of bed usually woke her in the process. It was always funny to see the two disentangle from each other in the morning.

Vita somehow managed to make her way downstairs after washing her face, still clutching the rabbit doll Hayate had gotten her when she was kidnapped.

"Need... caffeine..." said the zombie-like chibi.

Dean slid over a mug of tea, since Bobby firmly said no to handing Vita any of his precious coffee. It was cool enough that Vita could drink it without burning her mouth.

Everything was peaceful... right up until Signum got a transmission from the ship orbiting the planet.

"What's up?" asked Dean.

"Apparently the one who tried to grab Hayate has taken notice that we've made contact with the Bureau. Our contact has advised us to stay hidden for the moment," said Signum.

"Which means that we're going to be staying here for a while," said Sam.

"So have you heard from the two who volunteered their cores?" asked Shamal.

"Their names are Fate and Yuuno. Chrono said they were recovering at a rather fast rate, probably because they're so young," said Signum.

"How are we going to get the rest of the pages? Hunting werewolves and vampires barely rates _one_," said Vita.

"I may have a suggestion," said Shamal.

"Let's hear it," said Dean.

"Both you, Sam and Bobby have linker cores. Weak ones, but they're still there. Ellen and Jo however don't have one," said Shamal.

"How big are they?" asked Signum.

"More than most of the creatures we've taken out at least. Probably enough for two pages each if we're lucky," said Shamal.

"And that's just enough to finish the book off, isn't it?" asked Dean.

Shamal nodded.

"So how does this work?" asked Sam.

"I use Klarwind to locate your linker core, and then I use a little magic to activate the absorption program. It will drain the core and at the same time register any spells you might have. Now for most mages this also means they can't use any magic until the core replenishes, but since neither of you use magic at the moment it just means that you'll be sleeping in for a few days," said Shamal.

"If that's the case then we should probably do it one at a time. That way one of us will still be able to fight in case something happens," said Dean.

"I'll go first," said Sam.

Like Shamal said, it was slightly uncomfortable but nothing compared to how he felt after some of the hunts he went on. It took Sam two days of mostly sleeping before he was back to what Dean considered his functional state. After which Dean allowed Shamal to do the same to him. It took him three days before he was back up and ready to fight again.

The book was one page away from being filled completely.


	8. Chapter 8

With only one page left in the book that needed to be filled, it was only a matter of time before they could prove the book really was fixed to the TSAB.

However there was one small problem. Someone was looking for the Wolkenritter and by proxy Hayate. Someone who was very well aware of where said girl was.

Chrono couldn't exactly be seen with the Wolkenritter without drawing attention, so they sent Nanoha and Fate instead, with Yuuno and Fate's familiar Aruf as back up.

Needless to say Nanoha was very relieved that most of the house could speak Japanese enough to be understood. Hayate was just glad to have friends her own age to talk to, even if she couldn't talk about hunting around them.

* * *

Nanoha didn't know what to think about being in America. But she could see that Hayate's dad really, really loved his daughter. And while her father had taken some time to adjust to having a mage for a daughter, he had accepted it with some grace.

Hayate herself reminded Nanoha strongly of Arisa with her love of fashion.

As for the Wolkenritter, Nanoha noticed they were content to keep their distance and keep an eye out for any trouble. The only ones who stayed inside were Zafira the wolf and Vita, the one who was usually designated as Hayate's personal bodyguard because people wouldn't look twice at two girls being around each other. Zafira might raise questions or complaints, but no one thought Vita was ever a threat. Not until she brought out her device, Graf Eisen at any rate.

She was a very subtle bodyguard.

Yuuno was no so discreetly looking at some of Bobby's books, as he was an archeologist and most of the books the older hunter had were pretty rare.

It wasn't until Bobby had enough and took the kid aside that Yuuno was finally allowed to read one. Only to become confused since he couldn't exactly _read_ hieroglyphs. Fortunately Yuuno's bookish nature hit off with Bobby's, so the older man let him look through some of the other books. Yuuno was hooked, though he was highly confused as to what some of the creatures were.

* * *

"Well?" asked Chrono a few hours later. He had sent Nanoha and Fate in to see if they could get an unbiased read off of the Wolkenritter and their master.

And Nanoha had a history of connecting with people.

"Their master is kind. And her family is very loyal to her. None of the knights even tried to attack us or keep us at the house," said Nanoha.

"Family?"

"An uncle, father and grandfather. According to her, the Lieze twins were unaware that she had found her birth father in America, and that they were experienced enough to recognize what was wrong with the book without knowing what it was," said Fate.

"Her family is rather strange. I think they specialize in dealing with anything that targets humans. Their grandfather had several books on the subject, like how to take out ghosts of all things," said Yuuno.

"How so?" asked Chrono. This was starting to make a twisted sort of sense.

"While I was there, the grandfather let me look at his library. He has an extensive collection on things that are considered supernatural or paranormal. From what I saw, I think they hunt monsters for a living."

"Hayate said her family was full of Omnyouji," said Nanoha, having heard that comment.

"Omn-what?"

"Omnyouji. Professional hunters of anything that goes after humans. Really rare career choice, one that takes years of dedicated studying to be any good at. Basically they go after demons, oni and ghosts that trouble humanity," explained Nanoha.

"Wait, you said they hunt monsters right? That would explain why they haven't gone after any humans since the book woke up early. They wouldn't need to," said Yuuno.

"Quite a few things that aren't humanoid in origin have linker cores or magic. It's a small amount, but it's still present. It would take years though, and from what few reports we have of the Book it attacks it's owners if they don't fill it fast enough to suit the main programming," said Chrono.

There had been one master who took their time draining cores, and when they caught up to the man he had been paralyzed by the book itself from the program forcibly draining the man's core.

"Hayate did mention that she used to be unable to walk, but once the book was purged she was able to regain her legs," said Nanoha.

"Which means that originally things went like they always have when a master refuses to attack others for their cores. Exactly how did they purge the book?"

"Exorcism chant. Her uncle saw what was happening to her and recognized the signs, so they started teaching her Latin. Part of that was an exorcism chant they use to rid people of Youkai who take humans over by force," said Nanoha.

"Hang on... Her grandfather did hand me a rather odd book before we left. He said if we were really interested in what they did, this was a good place to start looking," said Yuuno.

It was a book almost entirely in Latin, which none of them were familiar with.

Yuuno went to the page that was bookmarked. Inside it was a very long chant of some sorts.

"Can any of you read that?" asked Chrono.

Everyone shook their head. No one could read it, not even Nanoha who just barely recognized the Romanji writing.

"So we have an unknown chant that can purge demons, a girl with a family full of Omnyouji, and a Lost Logia that could be just as much a victim as the people it killed. Have I missed anything?" asked Chrono.

"The last page might be filled soon," said Fate, "They wanted you to know that there was only one left so you didn't get angry for not warning you just in case."

Chrono appreciated the head's up.

"Now comes the tricky part. Keeping Admiral Graham in the dark," said Chrono.

Chrono didn't know or see the one of the Lieze twins in their animal form listening in. And Aruf hadn't paid any attention to them since Fate had yet to ask her to.

The moment Aria heard that the book was only one scant page before it was complete, she knew they had to act and act fast. If they didn't then they wouldn't have a chance of stopping the book once and for all, no matter how much they claimed that it had been fixed.

* * *

"Are you sure it was wise giving that kid the book?" asked Dean.

Bobby had handed the sandy blond kid, Yuuno, a copy of common exorcisms. It was highly unlikely the kid would be able to read it, but it would give Hayate a better chance to keep her new friends. She had gotten along scarily well with Nanoha and Fate, and Yuuno was absolutely enamored of Bobby's rare book collection, even if he could only read the Japanese ones. The kid was an absolute book worm.

"You said they wanted to know how we fixed that book. So I gave them a spare copy of the same book the exorcism we used was in. Not my problem if none of them can read Latin," said Bobby gruffly.

Sam snorted in amusement.

"That Yuuno kid had better keep his paws off my little girl," said Dean.

Hayate couldn't help it, she got an uncontrollable case of the giggles. The three hunters turned to look at her.

"What's so funny?"

"It's just... you said 'paws' right?" she said giggling the entire time.

"Yeah?"

"Yuuno can turn into a ferret. Kinda like that teacher from the book series uncle Sammy introduced me to," said Hayate.

Sammy blinked.

"He's an animagus?"

She nodded.

"Nanoha mentioned it. She said that the first time she met Yuuno, he was a ferret. She didn't even know he was a real boy until Chrono first showed up and Yuuno switched back."

"I still stand by what I said. He better keep his _paws_ off," said Dean, though there was a hint of amusement in the statement now.

* * *

Hayate was finishing up her homework in the kitchen when she heard something crash into glass. Vita went to investigate while Zafira stayed with Hayate. That was when she heard Vita's scream.

Hayate went to run outside to check on Vita when someone grabbed her from behind. Zafira was taken out next, with a spell.

Signum and Shamal were out getting groceries, despite the fact that neither were allowed in the kitchen for a very good reason.

They couldn't cook to save their life.

By the time they returned, Hayate, Vita and Zafira were gone, and there was evidence of a struggle. They immediately called Dean and the others before they contacted the Arthra up in orbit.

Only to hear silence on the other end. Something big was going on and they were afraid for their Master.

* * *

The first Nanoha and Fate knew something was wrong was when they failed to get a hold of Amy on the ship. Then they received a distress call from Signum in America.

Hayate, Zafira and Vita were missing and there were multiple signs that someone had grabbed them in the house.

All of it added to one conclusion. Whoever had targeted Hayate before was making their final move...and they were willing to go as far as they had to.

Good thing Nanoha and Fate had their devices upgraded when they had the chance.

* * *

The first sensation she felt was wet. Wherever she was was near the water. The next was the pain. She was not in a very pleasant position and her arms hurt.

Opening her eyes, she found herself in Uminari. Again.

Why did the cats keep bringing her here?

Then she heard the startled shout.

"Hayate-chan?!"

It was Nanoha! Hayate opened her eyes to see the red head in what Reinforce whispered was a barrier jacket...the armor mages used to protect themselves. It looked like a parody of a school uniform. Fate's looked like some sort of twisted gymnast's uniform with cape and split skirt.

Hayate could vaguely hear Nanoha demanding an explanation as to why they kidnapped Hayate and had hurt Vita. Right now she felt like she had gone several painful rounds of therapy.

Zafira tried to speak to her, but the telepathy was blocked somehow.

_**Hayate...the cats are trying to put you in a deep freeze the moment the book is complete. They don't believe us when we say that the demon responsible is gone.**_

_How can we convince them that they're wrong?_

_**I don't know if we can. And I overheard one of them say that the same cannon used to take out the Book the last time it rampaged was aimed at this city ready to fire. The minute it's complete they won't hesitate to shoot it.**_

_If we can't convince them, then can we disrupt the cannon? Or at least knock these two out?_

_**That would be tricky, but doable. But it would require something I had hoped to avoid.**_

_What?_

_**If we do this, then I would have to return to my true owner. At least until things cool down. I could leave most of my programming behind, but I would turn into an Intelligent Device and most of the core programs that make this book a Unison Device would have to be put into a new AI unit.**_

_If that happened, what would happen to you?_

_**I would be completely dependent on that man to do anything. But we would both live through this. I have no idea what effect it would have on the Wolkenritter though.**_

_Then we have to take a chance. I don't think these people are playing around._

_**Very well. Then we will have to do this properly now before they realize what is about to happen. I don't want to be completed by stealing the cores of the Knights like all the other times**_**.****_ Hayate Yagami-Winchester, do you accept me and all my power ?_**

Hayate thought it was an odd question, but answered anyway.

_Of course I accept your power Reinforce. I know you would never do anything to hurt me._

_**Do you trust me?**_

_Always._

Hayate could feel something happening, and apparently so did the cats. One of them actually yelped as the book seemed to burn in her hands.

_**Are you willing to let me take control?**_

_We are one and the same Reinforce. I won't let them continue the legacy that the demon caused._

The book itself seemed to burn, pages turning into a miniature fireball inside Aria's hands. She had to drop it before it burned her.

The pendant on the front glowed with an internal light.

Hayate felt the pain in her arms go away as something else took hold. She didn't fight it, because she felt the warmth of Reinforce all around her. She also felt something take note of what was happening and felt a force judging her. Analyzing her for _something_ only it knew.

Whatever that force was seemed pleased with what it found, because the next thing she heard was Reinforce speaking through her and for once not in the strange almost Germanic language that the Belkans seemed to favor so much.

Instead it was a language she had only heard once, but never understood. It had been when Reinforce had spoken to Loki, who she said was really the arch angel Gabriel.

_**Accessing the Host. Access granted. Preparing to Set Up.**_

She could feel her arms lift up into the sky.

"_**Wind of Blessings, come to thine aid**_

_**Voice of Hope, speak through this Vessel**_

_**I am one who sings among the Almighty**_

_**I am she who calls the Host to battle**_

_**Gather to unto me the Angelic Host**_

_**Horn of the Messenger, **_

_**Reinforce**_

_**Stand By Ready!"**_


	9. Chapter 9

Gabriel had thought after he gave Reinforce (she insisted on that new name, and frankly he could care less _what_ she called herself) that piece of himself to help insure her new form was never possessed again, that it would be the end of it for him.

But he could still feel her even now. And right now she was pretty damn pissed about something.

So Gabriel (and this was Gabriel not Loki) went to the source. What he saw angered and worried him.

Reinforce was a piece of himself, given new form and ability by his Father. She _shouldn't_ be able to take a vessel and yet the little girl he had helped... his deviant and highly huggable minion Hayate, was definitely acting as Reinforce's vessel.

Gabriel watched with shock as golden feathers wrapped around Hayate and when they passed revealed...a blond girl with teal eyes. On her head was a white cap with black trim that ended with an ornate cross. She wore a white jacket over a deep silver colored cape...one that had his symbol all along the edge of the bottom. Seeing the Enochian sigil for Gabriel was shock enough, but the outfit was even more outlandish.

Hayate had a black and silver armor on, and it was very reminiscent of something his garrison had worn during the civil war in heaven.

But the biggest shock wasn't her outfit or the fact she had somehow gone blond. No, the thing that startled him most was the wings.

Six wings that flapped behind the girl, clearly functional. Six white gold and silver wings.

Gabriel could feel the girl's Grace from where he was, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what she was now.

Hayate Winchester (boy had he been surprised finding out that the older brother had a daughter) was a newly fledged Arch Angel. One that was clearly accepted by his former instrument.

Poor Gabriel wasn't about to feel the last shock of the evening.

As if seeing his instrument bond with the human kid wasn't bad enough, his Father decided to get involved as well.

**Gabriel.**

The arch angel turned pagan jumped. He hadn't heard his Father's voice in centuries.

_Dad?_

**The girl Hayate. I want you to keep an eye on her. Do _not _let the Host find her. The last thing I want is for her to be taken from her family again.**

_Wait, so you actually made her a fledgling?_ Gabriel said incredulous.

**Hayate has a unique gift. She has the ability to redeem even the most lost soul. If she is allowed to grow in her own time, she might even be able to save Lucifer from himself.**

_Seriously? This is how you plan to deal with their spat? Send a _child_ in?_ Gabriel said angrily.

He was aware that the Winchesters were his brother's vessels. He just didn't care. He wanted the entire mess to be over with, because he couldn't stand to see them fight.

God chuckled.

**You said it yourself. Hayate is a deviant, yet highly huggable girl. Can you honestly say that Lucifer would be able to resist her natural charms long enough to continue his fight with Micheal? Especially once he realizes what she now is?**

Gabriel thought about that. Hayate was so adorable it was hard to hate her, unless your heart was truly dark. She was even able to save his instrument from a demon without realizing it.

Besides Lucifer, for all his faults, was always a total sucker for the younger angels. He was the one who taught Gabriel most of his tricks after all.

_Well, maybe. But you're really going to have a child try to change what's about to happen?_

**Her 'Knights' are strong enough to take on any demon, and they are the source of her wings. So long as he doesn't try to kill her outright, they will reform. Besides, we both know that Micheal would never dare target an innocent child.**

So that was his reason for turning Hayate into an angel! He didn't want Micheal or Lucifer to kill her outright for accidentally bonding with Gabriel's instrument!

Vita caught Hayate once it was all said and done. The girl was exhausted from using that much of her linker core and from bonding with Reinforce properly.

Chrono had captured the Lieze twins after his mother arrested their master. In his hand was the device that the felines were planning to use to put Hayate and Reinforce in a permanent deep freeze.

"Shamal, is she alright?" asked Vita.

Shamal scanned their Master's core.

"She's fine. Just exhausted. What exactly happened?"

"I don't know! The book wasn't even completed and all of a sudden Reinforce bonded with Hayate! Next thing we knew there were all these feathers!"

"Um... I might be able to offer an explanation?" offered a familiar face.

"Loki. What are you doing here?" asked Zafira.

"Actually I have a better question. Exactly how did those two get all the way here when the only ones on the roof were you and the chibi?"

"Something pulled us from America all the way here. Last thing I remember is seeing some white space before we found ourselves out here," said Signum confused.

"So what exactly happened?" asked Shamal to Loki.

"Reinforce used Hayate as a vessel. Which is pretty damn odd considering she's _not_ meant to be used like that, but considering the circumstances she probably went for the path of least resistance to stop those stupid cats."

"What exactly is a vessel, and how did Hayate manage to destroy the firing mechanism for the cannon?" asked Chrono.

"A vessel is a term used for anyone used by angels to interact with humans. We're not exactly able to do it in our true forms," said Loki.

"Why not?"

"Because our true forms are more than most people can handle. Seeing me as I really am would burn your eyes out, and hearing my real voice would literally drive you insane. Fortunately most of my brothers tend to stay in Heaven."

"Will Hayate be okay?" asked Vita.

"She'll be find. Becoming a vessel is entirely voluntary. A few night's rest and she'll be back to normal. However I will have to borrow Reinforce for a while. That little light show you lot put off will have attracted attention she definitely does not need," said Loki.

Before the Knights (and the mages) could protest, Reinforce herself appeared.

"_**You're afraid Micheal and the others will find Hayate through me, aren't you?"**_ she asked.

"I know they will. But if they sense my Grace, then they'll just assume some idiot tried to play you like the _last_ time you overreacted," said Gabriel rolling his eyes.

Reinforce did not suffer idiots. If someone other than Gabriel tried to use her, she reacted badly and sent out a calling card for all of Heaven to hear. It had happened when one of the younger angels had 'borrowed' Gabriel's horn and tried to use it. Micheal had firmly scolded the poor idiot since Gabriel wasn't going to.

Gabriel thought the shock his horn had given the lower angel punishment enough.

"You're not taking her away are you?" asked Vita. As far as she was concerned, Reinforce was one of them.

"Of course not! I'm just borrowing her until I'm sure that my brothers won't be looking for Hayate. It's not like we won't be visiting you guys often. Besides, I'm going to wait until she can properly say goodbye to Hayate before we take off," said Gabriel mock offended.

* * *

Dean and Sam were brought straight to the Arthra so they could see Hayate was fine...and the second Dean saw Gil Graham and was told he was the one who had the cat twins who took his daughter, he took three long strides and put the full force of his body into the punch.

The only reason Sam didn't join in was because he was quickly blocked by Chrono who had the feeling that the taller man would follow his brother.

Admiral Graham held his very bloody nose and it was clear that there was a bruise forming from where Dean had punched him. What he lacked in height he made up for in hitting power, as the man had found out.

"What was that for?!" demanded Lotte, hissing.

"That was for having you two furballs kidnap my daughter," snarled Dean.

"That's impossible. I know Hayate's father and you most definitely are not him!"

"Care to have a DNA test to prove I am?" growled Dean.

Graham and Winchester glared at each other.

It was Lindy who put an end to it.

"Admiral, stand down. And you, I'll forgive that punch but only this once. Quite frankly Admiral I think you deserved that for what you just pulled," said Lindy glaring at Admiral Graham herself.

After what he pulled, the best he could hope for was being let go quietly and having his rank removed. Especially since Chrono had already been investigating him for kidnapping of a minor on an Un-administrated planet.

* * *

Gil Graham looked at the report given to him from the doctors who had performed a DNA test to prove once and for all that Hayate was in fact the green-eyed man's daughter.

Even though Dean already had one done before he officially took her in, he wanted to show the man who kept trying to kidnap his girl that he was an idiot.

That had been the last straw for the soon-to-be formal Admiral.

Though Chrono had his own headaches to deal with.

Sam and Dean Winchester wanted to get devices. They didn't have to be Intelligent Devices like Raising Heart or Bardiche, nor did they have to be like Reinforce who was with her proper owner again for the first time in over a thousand years.

(Chrono hadn't been the only one shocked when part of the strange pendant had split off and become a rather ornate looking horn.)

However there weren't any devices Chrono could actually give them, and it wasn't like they had any currency accepted by Mid Childa standards.

And after Hayate was taken twice by the TSAB, it was very unlikely they would even consider joining up.

Which was why he instead sent Dean off to bother someone else and Sam to help Yuuno read the book Bobby had given him when they visited.

However the second they heard Hayate was awake, both rushed to check on her.

"Dad? Uncle Sam?" she said in shock. Then she saw the other man in the room. "Loki?"

"Heya kiddo! Felt that awakening all the way from Bermuda and had to come see what was going on. Unfortunately it attracted more than my attention."

"Micheal and the others felt it to, didn't they? Reinforce mentioned she might have to leave for a while if we didn't complete the book and just skipped ahead."

Loki raised an eyebrow. Reinforce must have been feeling rather chatty to mention that. Still at least he wouldn't have to explain what was going on.

"Well don't worry minion. Once most of the attention is off of you we'll come by and make regular visits. Besides, there's no way I'm letting you two muttonheads lose her again," said Loki grinning.

"Oi."

"Wait... so let me get this straight. You like Hayate enough to actually _babysit_ her?" said Sam incredulous.

Loki blinked.

"That's... one way of putting it," he said carefully. Babysitting was one way of describing him teaching Hayate new things. And it would explain why he kept visiting them.

"You can't be serious Sammy. Why would we let something like him babysit Hayate?"

"Because I'm the same person who brought her back the first time those cats grabbed her," said Loki annoyed.

"He is," confirmed Zafira.

Dean did not look comfortable with having something like Loki around his daughter. However Loki was one of the few things out there that he knew about that wouldn't try to kill her outright.

"Plus there's a very good chance I might be able to snag a few devices for you two muttonheads to play with, since these guys aren't parting with any," said Loki impishly. Hayate giggled.

Dean's sour attitude turned pensive.

"And if that doesn't work, you can always bring pie," added Sam dryly. Hayate's giggling turned into actual laughter. It was well known that her father _loved_ pie, almost as much as he did his daughter.

"Any particular kind of pie?" asked Loki only half-joking.

"Any pie, so long as it's sweet," said Sam.

Loki's grin widened.

"I think this is the start of a _beautiful_ friendship~!" said Loki grinning.

"Great..." said Dean.


End file.
